The Garden
"When you open your eyes and your heart for nature's beauty around you, there is so much to enjoy and love. I see each day as a gift with a possibility to discover something new."
Go Organic
Find Your Local...
Beneficial Insects
Edible Flowers
coming soon
Doghouse
Playhouse
Birdhouse
Greenhouse
This month in the garden...
My patio pals...
December
This is a pregnant female.
She likes the peanuts.
She likes the peanuts.
Click on the map to find your Plant Hardiness Zone
TRUE LOVE!
The blue jays love the corn
Last Updated 12/10
Plant hardiness zones...
Zone ratings are intended to indicate excellent adaptability of the plants. Many plants may survive in warmer or colder zones. Usually, mere survival does not represent satisfactory performance. [more]
Do you have a beautiful garden and want to share pictures? I'd love to ooooh & ahhh over them. Upload them to
Gammy's Garden Friends
Drop Box
Gammy's Garden Friends
Drop Box
Welcome to my Garden
Marjolein Bastin
Click on the butterflies to dance in my Butterfly Field
Garden tips & recipes...
As a north Texas resident, I feel compelled to provide information to assist and encourage local folks that would like to become environmentally conscience or would just like to learn more about gardening in Texas. So... here are some great links and useful information just for you. Enjoy!
Gardening in North Texas
[archives]
~Plant ornamental kale. Space transplants 20 to 25 inches apart.
~Continue planting spring bulbs. Try Amaryllis, daffodils, tulips and hyacinths. Plant in clusters of 5-10 for greatest impact.
~Keep planting cold weather flowering plants like pansies and snapdragons. See Texas Planting Guide.
~Add fall leaves to the compost pile. Turn the pile and water enough to keep it as moist as a damp sponge. See free garden project plan...how to Build a Compost Bin.
~Now is the time to plant trees and shrubs. Plant them at the same level as the root ball or slightly shallower.
~Cut asparagus to the ground and mulch.
~Harvest lettuce, radishes and any other crops that are still producing.
~Plant bare-root rosebushes. Try putting them in raised beds to improve soil drainage. Be sure to space them so that the mature bushes will get good air circulation, which will help prevent disease problems.
~It's important to continue watering your grass and plants during the winter. It helps them to withstand freezes. Water only when soil is dry.
~If you buy a living Christmas tree, plant it as quickly as possible after the holidays and compost cut trees or send it to tree recycling center. Find one near you.
~Use old Christmas tree branches as mulch, or chop them up and add them to the compost pile.
~Wait until the end of this month to start pruning woody plants as necessary. This chore should be done while the plants are dormant, which is likely to be late December through February.
Mums are still in season. Be sure to deadhead blooms to keep them flowering and that they are getting 6-8 hours of sun daily.
~Plant cool-season grasses.
~You may not collect a high yield, but you can still plant fast growers, like garlic and onions and radishes.
~If you haven't done so yet, cut back cannas plants after the first killing frost. Spread mulch over the bulb beds.
~Keep sheets, quilts, burlap sacks, buckets or other covering material ready to protect tender plants during cold spells.
~ Clean all old plant matter out of the garden and compost it. This will reduce insect and disease potential in next year's garden.
~Continue to tend to any black spot or powdery mildew leaves on your rosebushes.
Cut them off and dispose of them. Sterilize your garden tools before storing them away. Clean your garden tools before storing away.
~Harvest all tomatoes if a freeze is predicted. Visit Gammy's Recipe Box Gammy's Recipe Box for great (green) tomato recipes.
~Undesirable insects are a norm around the yard. Encourage natural predators like toads and birds by providing appropriate shelter and water sources.
~Continue planting spring bulbs. Try Amaryllis, daffodils, tulips and hyacinths. Plant in clusters of 5-10 for greatest impact.
~Keep planting cold weather flowering plants like pansies and snapdragons. See Texas Planting Guide.
~Add fall leaves to the compost pile. Turn the pile and water enough to keep it as moist as a damp sponge. See free garden project plan...how to Build a Compost Bin.
~Now is the time to plant trees and shrubs. Plant them at the same level as the root ball or slightly shallower.
~Cut asparagus to the ground and mulch.
~Harvest lettuce, radishes and any other crops that are still producing.
~Plant bare-root rosebushes. Try putting them in raised beds to improve soil drainage. Be sure to space them so that the mature bushes will get good air circulation, which will help prevent disease problems.
~It's important to continue watering your grass and plants during the winter. It helps them to withstand freezes. Water only when soil is dry.
~If you buy a living Christmas tree, plant it as quickly as possible after the holidays and compost cut trees or send it to tree recycling center. Find one near you.
~Use old Christmas tree branches as mulch, or chop them up and add them to the compost pile.
~Wait until the end of this month to start pruning woody plants as necessary. This chore should be done while the plants are dormant, which is likely to be late December through February.
Mums are still in season. Be sure to deadhead blooms to keep them flowering and that they are getting 6-8 hours of sun daily.
~Plant cool-season grasses.
~You may not collect a high yield, but you can still plant fast growers, like garlic and onions and radishes.
~If you haven't done so yet, cut back cannas plants after the first killing frost. Spread mulch over the bulb beds.
~Keep sheets, quilts, burlap sacks, buckets or other covering material ready to protect tender plants during cold spells.
~ Clean all old plant matter out of the garden and compost it. This will reduce insect and disease potential in next year's garden.
~Continue to tend to any black spot or powdery mildew leaves on your rosebushes.
Cut them off and dispose of them. Sterilize your garden tools before storing them away. Clean your garden tools before storing away.
~Harvest all tomatoes if a freeze is predicted. Visit Gammy's Recipe Box Gammy's Recipe Box for great (green) tomato recipes.
~Undesirable insects are a norm around the yard. Encourage natural predators like toads and birds by providing appropriate shelter and water sources.
Tammy's Squirrel Cafe'
Garden "To Do" list for
Winter gardening...
Me feeding pet squirrel
Do ya mind?
I'm eating here!
I'm eating here!
YOU'VE GOT TO SEE THIS!!!
[click on the butterfly]
[click on the butterfly]
Jenny's Website
Free Garden Projects
Fun Interactive Site
Message Board
Nature at it's best...
Check out Tim Beckman's square foot gardens info.
Tim is an Advanced Master Gardener in Indianapolis, Indiana. To cold for me, I'll stick with Texas, thank you, but he provides fantastic information on his site. Thanks for sharing Tim.
Tim is an Advanced Master Gardener in Indianapolis, Indiana. To cold for me, I'll stick with Texas, thank you, but he provides fantastic information on his site. Thanks for sharing Tim.
Have you found a secret room yet? Email me at GammysHouse@gmail.com and let me know which room you found
OR
enter you discoveries in my "Detectives Log Book" located in The Library.
Check you standings here
OR
enter you discoveries in my "Detectives Log Book" located in The Library.
Check you standings here
Square foot gardening...
I've been a square foot gardener for many years, in fact, so were my grandparents and their parents before them, we just didn't call it square foot gardening. Just plain 'ol common sense...if you ask me. [smile]
Find out what it is here. You might also want to check out the new Square Foot Gardening Foundation.
Find out what it is here. You might also want to check out the new Square Foot Gardening Foundation.
Sustainable Gardening
The Farmers' Garden is a surplus garden produce exchange. People from all over the country sign up for FREE to sell, trade, or give away their extra backyard produce.
Don't have a garden but would like to buy seasonal or local fruits and vegetables not found in your supermarket? Many of the farmers even share recipes to prepare the produce you buy!
I use this site to find organic gardens in my area. Try it!
Don't have a garden but would like to buy seasonal or local fruits and vegetables not found in your supermarket? Many of the farmers even share recipes to prepare the produce you buy!
I use this site to find organic gardens in my area. Try it!
© Copyright 2007 Gammy's House
This is a great site to find answers to all your garden questions.
Medicinal Plants
Planting Your Potted Plant Gifts
If you receive potted gifts this year for Christmas, such as paper-white narcissus or amaryllis; follow these easy steps to plant them in your outdoor garden.
After they finish blooming indoors:
1. Quit watering
2. Don't cut stalks, but let the foliage die down until it turns brown and dry.
3. Trim dry foliage off and plant the bulbs in the landscape.
After they finish blooming indoors:
1. Quit watering
2. Don't cut stalks, but let the foliage die down until it turns brown and dry.
3. Trim dry foliage off and plant the bulbs in the landscape.
Get a soil test done now so that you can amend and shape up the soil for spring planting.
Few people realize that their local university co-op extension probably has a small-fee soil test lab service, along with a (usually free) Master Gardener consultation program to discuss the soil test.
Few people realize that their local university co-op extension probably has a small-fee soil test lab service, along with a (usually free) Master Gardener consultation program to discuss the soil test.
Prepare for spring planting...
Recycling isn't hard. All it takes is a bin or two to separate your recyclable items and a little enthusiasm. Nearly everywhere in the country, you can find a local place to recycle your old cans, bottles, cardboard, paper, appliances and even your Christmas trees.
Don't throw it away...
Recycle your Christmas tree
Environmental stewardship...
To make a new African violet, cut a leaf from the mother plant with about an inch of the leaf stem (petiole). Fill a small pot with bagged potting mix or a mixture of sand and vermiculite. Poke a hole in the mix with a pencil and insert the stem so that the leaf itself is at the soil surface. Cover the pot with a perforated clear plastic bag and keep the soil moist. In about a month, new leaves should be visible at the juncture of the leaf and stem and you can pot this new plant in soil suitable for African violets.
Click on the African Violets to learn how to cultivate.
So many people think they have to give up gardening during the winter, but there are many options for gardeners to continue doing what they love most. Try building a cold frame for winter gardening, or growing African Violets indoors.
Extend your gardening season by using a cold frame which is an outside enclosed growing area useful to start spring seeding early or extend your harvest time in the fall.
A cold frame uses the sun for heat (solar heating).
The soil in a cold frame must be amended for good drainage to prevent tender plant roots from rotting. A gravel base works well under pots or sandy soil if planting directly in the ground.
Prop your frame open during sunny days and close at night or during cold weather to protect plants.
A cold frame uses the sun for heat (solar heating).
The soil in a cold frame must be amended for good drainage to prevent tender plant roots from rotting. A gravel base works well under pots or sandy soil if planting directly in the ground.
Prop your frame open during sunny days and close at night or during cold weather to protect plants.
Click on the cold frame to see how it works.
Outdoor
Indoor
Don't know how to build one? Download a illustrated project plan to build your own cold frame. Oh, and feel free to poke your head in my greenhouse to see if there are any other project plans you'd like to download. Help yourself and have fun building your cold frame!
As long as your cold frame protects your plants from the elements, you can build them out of almost anything! So...if you're not that ambitious, check out the Strawbale Cold Frame over at Sunstone Herb Farm, a great site providing loads of useful information on all things Urban Homesteading plus some fantastic recipes!